Six Sentence Sunday


Six Sentence Sunday

I figured I would join in on the fun, and each Sunday in February (or maybe more, haven’t decided) I will post six sentences from one of my current works in progress.  This week comes from my Steampunk novel, the Ulysses.

Hair black as the feathers of a crow, set in a faux hawk, Mia perfected the traditional style of her Cherokee ancestry every morning. A few lose strands of hair still floated wildly around the back of her neck.  It was never easy to capture her shoulder length hair alone for the time consuming process. Her dark brown eyes glared out into the openness which was the reason for her smile. Everything looked at peace so high above the world. War paint, once it would have intimidated those she face now lost its effect  with her clothing, a thick streak of red paint stretched across her eyes to her ears and two black of finger width rested on each cheek.

Five Sentence Fiction – Clandestine

Five Sentence Fiction – Clandestine

He stared at the blank canvas, sweat slivered down his forehead, he gripped the long paintbrush tighter to control the slight tremble in his hand.  Jason glanced past his canvas to Michelle, gloriously naked in the position he suggested.  Though it wasn’t the first time he’d painted the dazzling woman, the lust threatened to take him over now that he knew.  Their meeting over coffee last week left his ears craving the sound of her soft whimsical voice; she was more than just a pretty face.  His heart raced, throat seized as she stood crossing the expanse between them, she placed her lips to his neck with a promising kiss and a smile.


For more Five Sentence Fiction check out Lillie McFerrin’s blog. 

Five Sentence Fiction – Radiance

Five Sentence Fiction – Radiance

Jackson quickly pulled the tattered orange trucker hat down over his swollen brown eyes, feeling the color rush from his face. He leaned forward cupping his hands around the warm tea, an attempt to stop the tremble of his hands, but could do nothing about the thundering echo of his boots as they smacked on the concrete. He was here first, there was no reason for him to leave when he glanced up to see her sit only a few tables away, unaware of his presence. His heart stopped when he saw him, it was not his appearance but the glow of bliss on her face as she greeted her new love. Jackson stood and turned to walk away taking one final glimpse to his lost love, their eyes met, and he smiled before he disappeared into the crowd. 




Be sure to check out more Five Sentence Fiction over at Lillie McFerrin’s blog.

The Broken Ones

It has become obvious to me just how much I use music when I’m writing.  I’ve always been this way but over the past few months it has become just as important to me to keep something playing in my ears while I’m writing as any other preparation I do.  So much so when ever I sit down for a writing sprint I have already set a playlist for the sprint.  A lot of the time it gives me the chance to block everything else out, I’m less likely to let outside distractions in while writing. 
For the next few weeks I’ll be posting a music blog every Sunday of a song that I am either currently listening too on a heavy rotation or was a big part of what helped me through all the writing I accomplished in November/December. 
This week’s artist is Dia Frampton who I have listened to for most of the past month and a half on an extreme heavy rotation (of either her solo work or her music with her sister Meg).   And her song “The Broken Ones”!  

Versatile Blogger Award

Blogger award!  Even though I’m new to this and really just starting to figure it out I received a Blogger award recently.  And a big thanks to Angie Richmond (Write Me Happy) for the Versatile Blogger Award. 
So here are the rules:
1. In a post on your, blog, nominate 15 fellow bloggers for The Versatile Blogger Award.
2. In the same post, Add the Versatile Blogger Award.
3. In the same post, thank the blogger who nominated you in a post with a link back to their blog.
4. In the same post, share 7 completely random pieces of information about yourself.
5. In the same post, include this set of rules.
6. Inform each nominated blogger of their nomination by posting a comment on each of their blogs.
Fifteen amazing bloggers:
 Lillie McFerrin Writes 
Anonymous Legacy 
 Going for coffee….
 Madness of the Heart
Breeana Puttroff
Yearning for Wonderland
 Life As it Is, As I Make Them
 Defiantly Literate
 Rod Tyson
 R.J. Ropsen
MeginthePeg
Amanda McCrina
I Take the Pen
Melody with words
My Novel Writing Adventures
Seven things about me:
  1. I like to cook.
  2. I enjoy all things artistic, I love to draw/paint/photography…even if I don’t do those things frequently enough.
  3. Favorite book – Lord of the Rings.
  4. I’m a recovering World of Warcraft addict….err, maybe not recovering as I still play from time to time.
  5. I have no tattoos…  Since I was 18 I have wanted to get one even going as far as to put it on my list in 2011 of things I wanted to do, but like all the times before I didn’t even make the first step.  It is once again on my list for 2012
  6. I hate crowds.  And avoid them at all cost with the exception of for one thing, DragonCon (and other conventions).  Once a year Labor Day weekend in Atlanta Georgia with 40 thousand geeks and freaks and it is my Christmas!
  7. I’m a list person…

Happy Friday the 13th

So I sat down to write my Five Sentence Fiction for this week and I wanted to do something different.  Well different for me as I planned on doing it in first person.  I didn’t really like what I came up with but after the amazing Lillie McFerrin (she truly is a great editor) was done with it I just had to post.  She deserves just as much credit as me.

The only break in the inky darkness is the fire she pokes at with nervous enthusiasm. I watch on her movements, focusing on the exposed flesh begging to be sliced. Soon there will be lighting, thunder, and rain, a symphony to drive the machete in my hand. I know what path she will take even before she does and I won’t have to hurry to beat her to her end. I drag my eyes away for a moment, glancing at her bludgeoned boyfriend at my feet, and know once the thunder begins she will soon lie beside him.

Five Sentence Fiction – Hunger

Hunger
He held a tight grip on the haft of his dull gladius in his right hand, his spike adorned helmet in his left.  His heart pounded, echoing the sound of the crowd, their stomping and thunderous cheers.  His chest covered in oil meant to make his body gleam and shine in the open sun as it beat down on him making his scarred frame of past events more exposed.  This was his day, he lifted the helmet and placed it on his head, and he had a hunger to hear the masses erupt in victorious merriment and to prove those who wished to see his blood groan in rage.  He saw the open gate across the arena, just as the four hundred pound lion stepped into the sun and glared at the crowd, then to him, the beast had the same appetite.

For other Five Sentence Fiction entries be sure to check out Lillie McFerrin’s blog!  

Setting Goals

Setting Goals
It is that time of the year again, 2011 is over and 2012 is here.  I found myself sitting down to write my list a few days ago.  Like a new years resolution, except there is more than one and it is made up of specific goals I’d like to complete in the year.  For 2011 I had a list of nine. Sadly, as of the time I am writing this, only 3 of them have been checked off.  Some of those goals were creative/artistic goals, others were personal betterment goals, and couple others were selfish purchase goals or travel goals.  I can say of the 6 incomplete, 3 of those were so close I still call them wins even if I can’t check them off. 
The biggest creative goal on last year’s list was to complete a rough draft of a novel. I have been writing in one form or another since I was elementary school.  Despite that, I never pushed myself to complete a draft of any of my ideas.  So for most of the year off and on I was working through monthly writing/editing goals on my fantasy novel of a NaNoWriMo from a few years back, thinking I could do it.  Then came September/October, and though the novel was closer to being a complete draft (currently sitting at 90k, about ¾ done), I knew it was highly unlikely I would push through it during 2011.  The closer and closer I got to November, and another NaNo project, I guess I gave up accepting it wouldn’t happen.           Then came NaNo, a completely new story, and basically for the month I blasted through it ending a week from December with a rough draft of the story (sitting at 71k).   
          
Even taking some inspiration after a conversation with a new writing friend of mine, LillieMcFerrin, I finally had a spark of an idea for a Steampunk story.  And putting 5 k down on that story before the end of Nov, and by Christmas I had finished the rough draft of said story, making it my second in as many months.  It is hard to explain just happy I was to meet said goal. 
           
Now to 2012, since I have accomplished what was the number two goal on last year’s list…what about next?  I have been thinking a lot about my writing goals for next year, now I have proven to myself I can push myself to finish a draft.  And I came up with three writing related ideas for my list.  (Side note, there are 12 things on my list I won’t go into detail here)
1 – I plan on spending the first few months after finishing my Steampunk novel doing a lot of editing.  Between the two recently finished rough drafts and my fantasy, I see it a good time to invest in some red ink stock.  I want to have at least one of these three as a fully edited draft; one I’d be willing to try push forward for others to read. 
2 – Another goal I have committed to is the WIP500, basically one writing sprint a night, and considering on average I write over that, shouldn’t be a problem.  Just need to keep myself motivated to do it (can be found on twitter, @ashviper, always looking for #writingsprints).    
3 – A rough draft of a new story currently not in my long list of works in progress…  This one could be the easiest of the three, as I am planning on using my WiP500 for the first few months to work on a new story.  On top of that, there is NaNoWriMo and the fact I will be doing it again in.
To other writers and creative types who may read this or follow my blog, push yourself.  Make a list, even if it is a small one on what you would like to accomplish over the next year.  Even going as far as to make a small list at the first of each month to give you the push to make the over all goal a success.